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Rare Book Collection

Special Collections has a rare book collection strong in botany, natural history, zoology, and entomology. There are published writings of many great herbalists of the sixteenth century such as Brunfels, Bock, and Fuchs, as well as renowned works on flowers and fruits from both the 18th and 19th centuries.

Other unique items include primary source literature documenting agricultural observations, experiments, and practices in America, England, and Western Continental Europe. In addition to important travel accounts by early naturalists, there is an extensive collection of early plant descriptions and original works by the eminent botanist Carl Linnaeus.

View the list of titles included in the Robert Usinger Collection on Carolus Linnaeus housed in Special Collections. These volumes were collected by Robert Leslie Usinger (1912-1968), one of the world's most outstanding entomologists and expert on the ecology of insects.